She smiled and snuggled into the warmth wrapped around her back. He"d done more than check in. He"d crawled in beside her and fallen asleep. Right where she needed him to be. Forever.
The only thing missing was Patrick.
It wasn"t an easy thing to roll over in a cot with two people in it, but she managed not to fall on her ass. She didn"t succeed in accomplishing her feat without waking Brandon. His heavy gaze met hers when she settled more or less on top of him, his legs shifting to accommodate her.
“Can we go get him now?” she asked.
He smiled a little. “We don"t have to. He woke up a couple hours ago, bitching to anyone who would listen that he needed to get the hell back here and give his statement.”
“You know he just wants to see us, right?”
Brandon"s smile widened. “Of course.”
For a moment they lay there and enjoyed each other"s warmth and the surety of Patrick"s love.
Patrick was seriously the most hungover person in the entire history of the City of Boston and that was really saying something, as anyone who"d ever spent a St. Patrick"s Day in his fine city would know.
191
Samantha Wayland
His head felt like it was going to split in two and his stomach was a frustrating combination of desperate for food and certain that anything he ate would promptly be chucked back up.
The doctors had promised him his systems would settle in the next couple hours and had strongly encouraged him to remain under their care until that came to pass. No way. He had to get back to the station.
He had to get back to Destiny and Brandon.
McGuire had been waiting by his hospital bed when he"d finally woken up. He"d known Patrick would want to get his memories down on paper as quickly as possible and took Patrick"s statement while the nurses fussed over the IV tubes with which they were pushing gallons of fluids into him. The only reason Patrick had stopped his account was to drag all his IV stands into the bathroom, three times, proving that the rehydration process was complete long before the sadistic doctors would unhook him.
He might have ripped all the needles out of his arms before they had a chance, had McGuire not assured him, repeatedly, that Brandon and Destiny were fine, that Ryanne was keeping Destiny company, that Sully was also not far at any time, and that Carter had been sent home after completing his paperwork for the night.
It had helped him hold on a little longer at the hospital, but even McGuire couldn"t go on torturing him and told the doctors to let him go, promising to drive him back to the station and keep an eye on him.
And McGuire was welcome to try, but he was going to get one heck of an eyeful.
The moment McGuire stopped the car, Patrick was out, running up the stairs to the bullpen with one hand on the railing and the other trying to hold the two halves of his head together.
The smash of the door against the wall almost took him to his knees, but then he saw them.
Thank. God.
Destiny turned first and was at a dead run in the blink of an eye. Brandon wasn"t far behind, though his expression told Patrick that he was a bit concerned about the way Patrick was using one hand to hold his head together. Patrick didn"t have time to think before Destiny launched herself into his chest, her legs around his waist, his arms coming around her ribs as he staggered backward. He might have fallen on his ass, but Brandon grabbed them, wrapping his arms around them both.
He clutched Brandon"s back, holding tight while the tension left his body in a giddy rush. Destiny"s tears wet his cheek, her lips rubbing against his jaw. Brandon murmured soft words to him. To both of them.
“We"re all okay. It"s over now. We"re all okay.”
Someone cleared their throat and Patrick opened his eyes. Sully stood smiling at them, his eyebrows raised, and nodded his head to indicate the twenty or more people staring at them with varying degrees of wide eyes, goofy smiles and confused frowns.
192
Destiny Calls
“Shall we move this into my office before The Globe comes to take pictures?” Sully asked.
Brandon immediately moved back, blocking the room from the view of Destiny"s ass as she lowered her legs and put her skirt back to rights. Patrick took a deep breath and tried to clear his head with a good shake.
Big mistake. If it wasn"t for Brandon grabbing his sleeve, he might have fallen over.
It was a sweet relief when Sully closed his office door against the rising din of gossip being unleashed in the bullpen. Not that Patrick cared, but the noise was like a jackhammer bouncing around his skull.
He looked at Sully who was regarding him with concern, bordering on alarm. Time to pay the piper.
“Boss, I"m sorry to disappoint you, but I"m in love with Brandon and Destiny and plan to spend the rest of my life with both of them.” He heard Destiny squeak and watched Brandon clap a hand over his mouth, which had just fallen open. He didn"t care. He wasn"t made for closet living and this shit had to end. What if the next bad guy got him? How could he live, let alone die, without telling the truth about the people he loved?
Sully looked damn uncomfortable, shifting on his feet and staring at his shoes. He had probably just shocked his boss speechless. He thought he might be able to hear his father rolling over in his grave as he threw away his police career—and in front of his father"s old partner, no less.
Patrick wouldn"t have given a shit about any of that, if the partner in question hadn"t
